Time recorder



Ma 2, 1939. L. s. HARRISON T IME RECORDER Filed Dec. 12, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY May 2, 1939. L. s. HARRISON TIME RECORDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1935 FIG, 2

III/l INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY May 2, 1939.. s. HAQRISON T IME RECORDER Filed D60. 12, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 m m m m A TTORNEY May 2, 1939. L. s. HARRISON I TIME RECORDER Filed Dec. '12, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l I] ,lll lllll INVENTQR. W M

ATTORNEY Patented May 2, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TIME. RECORDER poration, New York, New York N. Y., a corporation of Application December 12, 1935, Serial No. 54,036

10 Claims.

This invention relates to time recording clocks and more particularly to the type of time recording clocks known as autographic time recorders in which the operator writes his name on a record strip each time he registers and the time of his registration is printed adjacent his signature.

Such recorders of this type that have been wellknown and used in the art have been provided with a record strip which was fed a predeter- 10 mined amount each time a registration was effected and subsequent registrations by different operators were placed in consecutive order adjacent each other so that a single operators complete registration for the day were scattered at 15 random through the list of the complete registrations of all operators.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an autograph recorder wherein the registrations of each operator will be grouped together so 20 that a single operators consecutive registrations may be grouped adjacent each other and each individual operators registration may be selectively located in his own registration group.

Another object is to provide means for moving the record strip relative to the printing wheels in both directions and in varying amounts.

A still further object is to provide a movable record strip carrier which may be selectively moved to bring any portion of the record strip 30 carried thereby to registering position.

Still another object is to provide means for moving the record strip relative to the movable record strip carrier.

Still another object is to provide means for pre- 35 venting a second registration by the same operator at his designated station within a predetermined period of time.

A still further object is to provide paper feeding means which may be actuated not more than once 40 during a given predetermined period.

Various other objects and advantages of my invention will be obvious from the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying the invention or from an inspection of 45 the accompanying drawings; and the invention also constitutes certain new and novel features of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the reel for carrying the record strip and a diagrammatic showing of the type wheel mechanism.

Fig. 2 shows a sectional front elevation of the 55 upper half of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the relationship of the locating stations to the selector arm.

Fig. 4 is a detail of a portion of the side elevation showing the mechanism mounted on the reel and the printing means for effecting printing on the record strip.

Fig. 5 shows a fragment of a record strip showing a complete days registration for two operators.

.Fig. 6 is a position view of some of the parts shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a detailed position View of the mechanism which causes resetting and paper strip feedmg.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the mechanism on the left hand side of the machine as viewed in Fig. 2.

This device may be provided with a base II] on which are mounted side frames H with a cross brace l2 fastened between them. A casing I3 is adapted to completely enclose the mechanism (Fig. 1). Journals I4 and I5 are fast to the side frames. A flanged tubular member I6 is rotatably mounted in the journal l5 and extends beyond the casing and has keyed thereto by means of a key H a hollowed or journaled arm I8. Pivotally mounted at IS on said arm is a handle 20 having an extension 2| adapted to cooperate with a plurality of channel-like locating stations 22 circumferentially spaced around the casing and adjacent the path of rotation of the arm l8 (Figs. 2 and 3). The handle 20 is biased in a counterclockwise direction by a spring 23 and has connected thereto a link 24, which is pivotally connected to a bell crank 25 pivoted at 26 within the hub of said arm. One arm of the bell crank is forked and engages a pin 21 fixed in a rod 28 which is slidably mounted in the tubular member IS. A spacing collar 29 is fixed to the member [6 by means of a set screw adjacent the bushing l5 and a bearing 30 is rotatably mounted on the member I6 and has fixed thereto one reel frame 3|. A plurality of pins 32 are fixed to the flange of the member l6 and extend through apertures in the side frame 3| so that the side frame 3| may be moved to the left as viewed in Fig. 2 without being disengaged from the pins 32. Thus, when the member I6 is rotated by means of the arm l8, the pins 32 will cause the reel frame 3| to rotate also. The other reel frame 34 is fixed to a bushing 33 which is slidably mounted on the rod 28.

Thus, as the arm [8 is rotated, both members 3| and 34, together with the mechanism carried therebetween which constitute the reel, will be rotated. Fixed to the rod 28 is a cylindrical rack 35 which engages a pinion 36. The rod is slidably journaled in the journal l4 so that by oscillating the handle 29, the rod 23 may be slid back and forth transversely.

Also fixed to rod 28 is a spring anchor disk it! to which are attached springs ltu connected to the reel frame 3i. These springs are under tension and tend to pull the reel to the left relative to the rod 28 as viewed in Fig. 2. Limit stop rods 132 mounted on the anchor disc itil prevent the movement of the reel to the left, the springs Hi3 holding the frame member 3i against them. When the rod 28 is moved to the left moving the disc itl the tension of the springs 1st pulls the reel also to the left but in event of anything blocking the reel the resilient action of the springs will prevent damage.

Operatively connected with the pinion 35 is an arm 31 which turns with the pinion, said arm and pinion being journaled in a bracket 38 mounted on the side frame H. The arm 31 cooperates with a projecting pin 39' mounted on a slide 39 slidably supported and guided by studs 48. A spring 4| fixed at one end to the upper part of the slide 39 and at the other end to the stud 5G biases the slide downwardly. Pivotally mounted at 42 to the frame of the machine is a forked lever 43 having an extension 44 extending into the path of movement of the pin and the slide 39. Lever $3 is normally biased in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot 42, as viewed in Fig. 4, by a spring 44 secured to a pin H extending from the frame of the machine. The forked end engages a pin 45 which is fixed to a shutter 46 supported at each end by rollers 41 guided in tracks 48.

Upon depressing the handle 29 the rod 28 is slid to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, and the rack 35 causes the gear 36 and consequently the arm 31 to be rotated clockwise, lifting the slide 39 against the extension at and rocking the forked member 13 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 4, and sliding the shutter M3 to the right. In its normal position, the shutter is held directly underneath an aperture 59 in the casing iii.

The frames 3i and 34 have mounted between them a series of platens 5!, feed rollers 52 and 88, paper guiding means 53, a spindle M for mounting a paper supply roll, and a series of paper guide pins 55 for holding a paper strip taut so as to lie flat against each platen. There are a like number of platens 5| and locating stations 22, one platen corresponding to a single locating station whereby the movement of the arm 18 to a position where the extension 2| may slide into a lo cating station will revolve the reel to a position in which the platen 5! corresponding to that selected locating station will be directly underneath the shutter 46 and the aperture 56. Located adjacent to each platen is a series of levers and pawls, each group of which is identical so that the following description of one group will apply equally to each one. Pivotally mounted at 6| to the frame 34 is an arm 56 having an outwardly extending pin El and a cam surface 58 and connected by means of a spring 59 to a lever 50 also pivotally mounted at M. A pawl 52 bearing on the cam surface 58 by the biasing action of a spring 63 is pivotally mounted on the reel at 64 and is provided with an arm 65. Pivoted at 66 are two pawls 6'5 and 58. The pawl 67 is urged in a counterclockwise direction by a spring 69 and is connected to the pawl 68 by means of a spring which in turn tends to urge the pawl 68 in a clockwise direction.

An extension of the pawl Bl bears on a pin ll mounted in the cam 58 and acts as a limit stop for the pawl 61 and pawl 68 is provided with a pin 68' which bears against the pawl 61 to limit its travel in a clockwise direction. An extension 12 on the pawl 6'! cooperates with a pin 13 mounted on the trip latch 14 which is pivotally mounted at within the reel and normally lies below the platen, being held in this position by the action of the arm 12 against the pin '13. The trip latch 14 is normally biased in a counterclockwise direction by a fiat spring 16 anchored to the reel. An annular ring Tl is slidably mounted on the reel and is adapted to rotate slightly backward and forward relatively and concentrically with said reel. The ring TI is biased in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4, by a spring 79 anchored at one end to a pin I fixed to the ring and at the other end to a pin I36 fixed to the reel. A projection I31 integral with the ring 11 abuts against a pin 18 fixed to the reel to limit the movement of the ring relative to the reel. A series of pins 80 are mounted on this ring and are positioned adjacent the arms 65 and in the plane of said arms. The ring is provided on its inner periphery with a rack 8| extending over a short are and said rack is meshed with a gear sector 82 pivotally mounted at 83 on the reel. Fixed to the gear is an arm 84 carrying a pawl 85 which cooperates with a ratchet wheel 85 fixed to the shaft 8? on which a lower paper feed roller 88 is also fixed.

The forked lever 43 has pivotally connected thereto at 89 a link Si] which at its opposite end is pivotally connected to a lever 9| pivotally mounted at 92. The upper end of the lever B! is adapted to engage a pin 93 which is mounted in the frame 94 of a time stamp. This time stamp is commonly known as a head printer stamp in which the printing head swings about a pivot which in this instance is the pivot 95 which is supported by bracket 95a mounted on the cross brace I2,

Type wheel [39 is diagrammatically shown in Figs. 2 and 4. This type wheel effects printing on the left side of the record strip on the platen which is directly underneath the printing head at the time a printing operation is effected by impinging the type wheel against the platen when the printing head is rotated about the pivot 95. The manner in which this printing operation takes placewill be described later. While the showing of the printing head and type wheel is diagrammatic to sufficiently show how a print can be made by throwing the type wheel against the platen it will be understood that any of the well known types of printing heads used on stamps such as shown in U. S. Patent No. 1,939,066 to C. E. Larrabee may be employed.

A lever 86 also pivoted at 95 is connected to the frame 94 by means of a spring 91 running between pins 98 on the time stamp frame and 99 on said lever thus normally holding lever 96 against the pin 93. The lever Q6 is further urged in a clockwise direction by a spring I08 running from the pin 98 to a fixed anchor on one of the side frames H. The movement of the lever 96 in its urged direction is limited by a pin 93a fixed to the side frame of the machine, so that normally the lever 96 urges the time stamp 94 in a clockwise direction by bearing against the pin 93, but the stamp head is held in its rested position from resting against its cooperating platen by the spring 91, since the limit stop 93a. prevents lever 95 from dropping the time stamp head that low except when printing is required. Means are provided, which will be explained later,- for latching wheel I! is a retaining pawl I20 (Fig. '7).

ratchet wheel I01.

the printing head up as shown in Fig. 4 under increased tension of spring I00 so that when the latch H3 is tripped out from under the time stamp head, the head is propelled against the platen by said spring. The lever 95 brings up against the pin 93a and the momentum of the head carries the printing element downward to strike the platen under the resilient action of the spring 9! which immediately returns it to its normal position with the pin 93 resting against the lever 96 so that a quick sharp blow is made against the platen by the printing element.

The time stamp frame 94 carries the usual type wheel and actuating mechanism for operating said type wheel. Such a time stamp may be found in United States Patent No. 1,939,066 to C. E. Larrabee, and as the time stamp mechanism forms 0 part of the present invention, it is be lieved the above reference will constitute adequate disclosure for a complete description of the same.

On the time shaft of the time stamp is a program wheel IOI on which settable pins I02 are mounted. These pins are adapted to be changed in their related position on the wheel in accordance with a desired program schedule. The pins are adapted to engage a lever I03 which is pivotally mounted at I04 and connected to a lever I which in turn carries a pawl I05 which cooperates by virtue of gravity with a four-toothed ratchet wheel I01 fixed to a shaft I08 on which are mounted a cam I09 and a star wheel H 0. Cooperating with the star wheel H0 is a springpressed detent III. A bracket H2 mounted to side frame II carries a pivotally mounted latch H3 which is notched at its upper end to engage a struck-out portion H4 of a bracket H5 mounted to the frame of the time stamp so that when the time stamp is latched against the biasing action of the spring I00, the notch in the latch H3 will engage the portion I I4 by virtue of the spring H6. A plunger I I1 is slidably mounted in the bracket H2 and spring-pressed against the arm H5. The lower end of the latch H3 is provided with a pin I I8 which extends into the path of the trip latch I4 and is adapted to be engaged by said latch when it extends above the periphery of the reel.

A pin H9 fixed to the bracket H2 acts as a limit stop for the latch I I3 when it is engaged by said trip latch. Cooperating with the ratchet The pawls I20 and I06 have rearwardly extending portions which act as weights to hold the pawls in contact with the ratchet wheel and which are adapted to be engaged by a lever I2I, pivotally mounted on the annular ring 1! at I38 and pro vided with a pin I22 which engages an elongated slot I23 in the reel frame 34 (Fig. 7). When the frame 34 has moved to the right relative to the annular ring 11, as viewed in Fig. 7, the pin I22 in being positioned at the left end of the slot I23 lifts the pawl I2I which engages the pawls H35 and I20 to lift them out of engagement with the Thus, with the high point of the cam I09 positioned to engage the notch I28, when the reel 34 is turned clockwise the annular ring is held by the cam and the action previously described takes place to free the ratchet wheel I01 from its cooperating pawls so that the cam is then free to turn and therefore the spring 19 acting on the ring pulls the ring clockwise restoring it to normal position relative to the wheel and moving the cam point out of cooperation with the notch I28. The relative displacement of the ring with respect to the reel has a limiting factor which is the length of the slot I22. The action of spring I9 just described tends to reduce this relative displacement to zero. Clockwise movement imparted to the ring causes the cam I09 to move a certain distance counterclockwise, and then to be positioned in a considerably more counterclockwise position as shown in Figs. 4 and 6 by the cooperation of the spring-pressed detent arm I I I with the star wheel I I0.

A visible time indicating dial I24 operated from the time stamp mechanism is provided. A paper supply roll I25 is mounted on a spindle 54 and the paper strip supplied therefrom passes over the platens 5| and under the adjacent pins 55 consecutively and after passing the last platen, is passed between the paper feed rollers 52 and 88 and then between paper guides 53.

In the operation of the normal machine, the operator is assigned a number which corresponds to one of the platens on the reel and numbers corresponding to these platens are fixed to the side of the casing adjacent the locating stations 22. The operator in registering revolves the arm I8 in either direction to a point opposite the station number assigned to him and presses down on the handle 20 so that the lever 2I enters the channel of the station 22, thereby firmly locating the reel with the corresponding platen in registering position.

Upon pressing down the handle 20, the rod 28 is slid to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, moving the entire reel to the left so that the pins 5! are moved into the path of movement of the struck-out portion 49 of the forked member 43. The motion of the rod 28 to the left causes the gear 36 to be turned clockwise raising the slide 39 against the extension 44 causing the forked lever 43 to be rocked clockwise, thereby carrying the shutter 45 away from the aperture 50 to expose the platen 5I to enable the operator to sign his name on the record sheet, as viewed in Fig. 6. The movement of the arm 43 to the right causes the portion 49 to engage the pin 51, swinging the arm 56 counterclockwise about its pivot so that the follower 62 drops off at the edge of the cam surface 58, thereby locking the arm in position. The lever 60 is pulled by the arm 56 by virtue of the spring connecting the two so that the end of said lever strikes against the side of the slide 39. By virtue of the rotation of the arm 56 the pin 'H rotates the pawl 61 clockwise withdrawing the arm 12 from contact with the pin 13 and the trip I4 is pushed upwardly by the fiat spring I6 and at the same time the spring I0 draws the pawl 68 clockwise so that the notched end of the pawl engages the end of the trip I4 to thus limit its upward position. When the registration handle 20 is released, the spring 23 (Fig. 2) returns the handle 20 in a counterclockwise direction to its normal position whereby the rod 28 is moved to the right causing the gear 35 to turn counterclockwise and dropping the slide 39 to normal position. The limit rods I32 are moved to the right with the rod 28 and push the reel to the right to normal position. When the slide 39 drops to its normal position the upper end of the slide is below the lower end of the lever 60 so that the lever moves further in a counterclockwise direction under the Luging of a spring 59 until an extension I4I at the upper end of the lever strikes a limit stop I25 (Fig. 6). In this position the formed over end I26 of lever 60 is directly over and in the path of slide 39 so that the slide cannot be moved upward thus preventing another registration at that station or platen until the lever 66 has been restored in a manner to be described later.

With the movement of the lever 43 to the right, as Viewed in Fig. 4, the lever 9| is also pulled to the right by the link 95 and said lever strikes the pin 93 lifting the time stamp mechanism counterclockwise about its pivot and at the same time storing power in the spring 3569 as the lever 56 is also moved counterclockwise. As the time stamp mechanism is moved upwardly, the extension I I4 engages the notch of the lever IE3 so that it is held in this position. After the operator has signed his name and raised the handle 23, he rotates the arm i8 counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig, 4, and the trip latch It which new projects above the platen engages the pin I 58, moving the latch I I3 against the limit stop I I5 which arrests the rotation of the wheel and locates the platen directly underneath the type wheels E39 with the signature to one side of the type wheels and unlatching the stamp head so that it is propelled downwardly by the spring Hill to print the time beside the signature just made. On the downward movement of the time stamp head, the end of the arm II5 strikes the pin it? which is propelled downwardly and in turn strikes the end of the trip M rotating it clockwise. The pawl 65 is at this time being urged in a clockwise direction by the spring 76 so that when the trip I4 is pressed downwardly, the opposite end of the said trip rises above the end of the pawl 68 so that said pawl moves underneath the end of the trip to hold the trip '34 from turning counterclockwise, as constantly biased by the fiat spring I6, thus holding the hooked end of the trip in inoperative position below the platen until again released in the manner just described.

As previously stated, after any one registration has been made at a station, a second registration at the same station cannot be made until the parts have been reset. This resetting operation can only be performed after certain timed intervals. These intervals are set up by means of the pin 02 on the program wheel IQI and the program thus set generally conforms to the regular hours under which the operator works. As many operators as there are stations provided in the machine can be assigned to use the machine and each operator is assigned a station number. Each operator as he comes in swings the arm in position to engage the extension 2| with the locating members 22 corresponding to his assigned station number. He presses the handle 20, writes his name on the tape, releases the handle 25 and swings the arm counterclockwise to effect printing of the time as previously explained. A suitable time is allowed for all of the employees to register in, after which a pin Hi2 placed in the program wheel Iill causes the machine to be set up to restore the locking means for preventing registrations to their normal position and to feed the tape to a new position in preparation to receive out registrations. This pin may be located at a number of convenient locating positions on the program to cause this set up operation to be effected at a suitable period between in registrations and out registrations. The manner in which this set up is accomplished and in which the locking mechanism is restored and the paper strip fed will now be explained. When the pin I62 strikes the arm S63, rocking it and the arm I05 clockwise, the pawl I66 engages the next tooth of the ratchet wheel and when the pin I62 passes by, the arm I05 is drawn counterclockwise by the spring I2! rotating the cam I09 in a clockwise direction so that the high point of the cam rests on the periphery of the ring 11. The first operator to go out will find that he is unable to register because of the locked-up position of the parts due to his previous in registration. He will then rotate the reel clockwise and in doing so, a notch I28 in the annular ring TI passes under the point of the cam I09 and the cam, still urged by the action of the spring I21, drops into the notch so that the retaining pawl I26 engages the next tooth of the ratchet wheel I51 and holds the cam in position. The cam thus arrests the rotation of the annular ring I7 while the reel itself tends to continue its rtation. The momentary arresting of the rack 8| and the continued movement of the reel causes the arm 65 of the pawl 62 to be moved to the right relative to the pin 86 on the rack 8I so that the arm 65 impinges against the pin 80 rotating the pawl 62 counterclockwise to lift it from engagement with the cam surface 58 and storing additional power in the spring 63 so that the arm 56 is now moved clockwise to its restored position against the struck-out portion 49 of arm 33. It was already explained how the cooperation of portion 49 with pin moved arm 56 counterclockwise when the handle 26 was operated. Then when handle 20 Was released, portion 49 moved to the left away from the pin 51 because pawl 62 for the time being held arm 56 in its operated position. Inasmuch as the handle 26 must now be in its normal position as shown in Fig. 2, the reel will be in its normal right hand position so that the struck out portion 49 will not obstruct the pin 51 when arm 56 returns to normal position.

The movement of the arm 56 to its restored position carries with it the lever 60 so that the formed over end I26 is removed from the path of the slide 39 to permit registrations to again be eifected. As previously pointed out, when the cam I39 engaged the notch I28 there was a relative movement between the annular ring 11 and the reel which caused the pawl I2I to be rocked counterclockwise disengaging the retaining pawl so that the cam is free to turn counterclockwise and roll out of the notch so as not to permanently lock the reel. This relative movement effected between the annular ring and the reel causes the pinion 82 to be rotated counterclockwise and then as the ring is restored by the spring 19, it is rotated clockwise, thus oscillating the arm 84 to advance the ratchet wheel 86 and thus rotate the feed rolls 52 and 88 to feed the paper strip.

The net result of a days registration is that each operators registrations will be grouped together, showing his entire time registrations for the day at one glance, as shown in Fig. 5.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A printing device including a printing head normally in inoperative condition, a plurality of individual spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed for receiving printed data,

a shutter normally covering a portion of said sheet, means for moving a selected platen adjacent said shutter, means for moving said shutter relative to said sheet to expose to view a selected portion of the sheet disposed on said selected platen, means controlled by said last named means for placing the printing head in condition to effect printing and means for automatically operating the printing head upon moving the platen over which said selected portion of said sheet is disposed from the aforesaid position adjacent the shutter to a position adjacent the printing head.

2. A printing device including a printing head, a plurality of spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed for receiving written data, a housing for enclosing said printing head and platens having an aperture therein, a movable shutter adjacent said aperture for normally closing the same, means for moving any selected platen to a position adjacent said shutter and means operated by a part of said last named means when the latter has moved a selected platen adjacent the shutter for moving said shutter away from said aperture to render accessible said sheet disposed on said selected platen for receiving written data.

3. A printing device including a printing head, a plurality of spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed, a housing for enclosing said printing head and platens having an aperture therein, a movable shutter adjacent said aperture normally held in closed position for covering said aperture, means for moving a selected platen to a position adjacent said aperture and shutter, means for moving said shutter to open position to render a selected portion of the sheet disposed on said selected platen accessible through said aperture, blocking means normally latched in unblocking position for preventing movement of said shutter to open position and means operable by the shutter moving means for unlatching the blocking means to render the same effective upon return of the shutter to its normally closed position to prevent a successive opening of said shutter when said selected platen is positioned adjacent said shutter.

4. A printing device including a plurality of spaced apart movable platens over which a single sheet is disposed for receiving data, a housing for enclosing said platens having an aperture therein, a shutter adjacent said aperture for normally closing the same, means for moving a selected platen to a position adjacent said aperture and shutter, means operable by a part of said first named means for moving said shutter away from said aperture to render accessible a selected portion of the sheet disposed on the selected platen to receive data and means coacting with the shutter moving means and rendered efiective by the operation of the latter by the aforementioned part of the first named means for preventing the movement of the selected platen while the shutter is moved away from the aperture.

5. A printing device including a printing head, a movable support carrying a sheet, means for moving said sheet support to a selected position to select different portions of the sheet for disposal in printing relation to the printing head, means for efiecting the actuation of said printing head to print data on the sheet at said selected position, a sheet supply roll from which said sheet is fed and carried by said support for movement therewith, means for effecting feed of said sheet from the supply roll, and means rendered eifective by the movement of said support for causing the actuation of said feeding means to feed the sheet to space the data printed by said printing head.

6. A printing device including a printing head for printing on a sheet, a plurality of spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed, a movable shutter normally covering a part of said sheet, means for moving a selected platen to a position adjacent said shutter, means for moving the shutter when said platen is so located to expose to view a portion of the sheet disposed over the selected platen, and means controlled by the shutter moving means for conditioning the printing head for a subsequent printing operation.

'7. A printing device including a printing head, a plurality of individual spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed for receiving printed and written data, a housing for enclosing said printing head and platens having an aperture therein adjacent said single sheet, a movable shutter normally closing said aperture, means for moving a selected platen to a position opposite said aperture and shutter, means for moving said shutter from said aperture when said platen is so positioned to expose to view the sheet disposed thereon and means controlled by the shutter moving means for automatically conditioning the printing head for a printing operation for effecting the printing of data on said sheet when said platen is moved from said past named position to a position adjacent the printing head.

8. A printing device including a printing head, a plurality of spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed for receiving written data, a housing for enclosing said printing head and platens having an aperture therein, a movable shutter adjacent said aperture for normally closing the same, an operating device, mechanism actuated by said device for moving any selected platen to a position adjacent said shutter, and means also operated by said device, separately from said mechanism, for moving said shutter away from said aperture to render the sheet disposed on said selected platen, which has been moved adjacent said aperture, accessible for receiving written data.

9. A printing device including a printing head, a plurality of spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed for receiving written data, a housing for enclosing said printing head and platens having an aperture therein, a movable shutter adjacent said aperture for normally closing the same, an operating device movable in two different paths, means operated by said device when moved in one path for moving any selected platen to a position adjacent said aperture and shutter, and means operated by said a device when moved in the other path for moving said shutter away from said aperture to render the sheet on said selected platen, which has been moved against said aperture, accessible for receiving written data.

10. A printing device including a printing head normally in inoperative condition, a plurality of individually spaced apart platens over which a single sheet is disposed for receiving data, a housing for enclosing said printing head and platens having an aperture therein disposed adjacent said sheet, a movable shutter adjacent said aperture and normally in position for closmeans to cause a printing of data on the selected portion of the sheet when said selected portion is moved from its position adjacent the aperture to a position adjacent the printing head, and means operated by shutter moving means and efiective upon the return of the shutter from its open to its normally closed position to prevent successive data entries on the same selected portion of the sheet.

LAURENCE S. HARRISON. 

